This Time Around
by tiffspiff
Summary: Eli is back in Toronto after four years in college. What happens when he runs into his old high school girlfriend who he hasn't talked to in years? Original idea for We are What we Are turned into a short story.
1. Chapter 1

**This is going to be a two (possibly three) shot. I had this idea for my story **_**We are What we Are**_**, but I decided to go a different way. However, I love this idea so I'm going to do it anyway, except I'm not going to use Sam, my character. I am going to use Missy's Diner though because I like the whole idea behind it. Alright I hope you guys enjoy it!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Degrassi or its characters; however, I do own the idea for Missy's Diner, the characters that work there, Timothy Martin, and Christopher Callahan.**

Eli walked along the sidewalk of downtown Toronto. He hadn't been back here in years. He had originally gone off to a great university in British Columbia to become a writer. However, after about a year, he met someone who would change his life. He had been walking down the street, a lot like today, when he heard yelling coming from an alley. Curiosity got the best of him as he went in search of the noise. He came across a boy, not much younger than him, being beaten by an older man. Eli quickly ran down the alley and yelled at the man.

"Hey leave him alone!" The older man turned and glared at Eli.

"This doesn't concern you. This is between me and him." He turned back to the boy in his tight grip. The boy looked utterly terrified. His wide eyes stayed locked on the face of the man holding him from running away. Eli saw the man lift his hand off the boy and form a fist. Eli sprang into action. He pushed the man away and punched him. Shocked, the man released the boy, who just stood there. The man started walking towards Eli, hatred evident on his face, when they all heard the sound of police sirens. They all took off running before the police could arrive. Eli decided to follow the boy. He followed him to an abandoned park where the boy laid down on the slide. Eli noticed that the boy had been carrying a backpack that now sat on the ground. He slowly approached him.

"Hey there." The boy lifted his head and looked up at him with a shocked expression.

"You followed me?"

"Well someone had to make sure you were okay."

"I'm fine." The boy tried to act tough. It reminded Eli a lot of himself.

"Really? Because as far as I remember busted lips and black eyes hurt like a son of a bitch." He smirked. The boy laid his head back down and ignored Eli. "I'm Eli." The boy looked back towards him.

"That's nice. Now leave."

"For someone who I just saved, you sure are being a little ungrateful." The boy scoffed.

"I could have handled it. Now go away."

"No."

"No what?"

"No you couldn't have handled it and no I'm not going away. Now what's your name?"

"It's Timothy."

"Nice to meet you. How old are you?"

"Does that really matter?"

"Yes it does."

"I'm sixteen."

"So let me guess, that was your father." Timothy looked up at Eli with another shocked expression.

"How did you-"

"Lucky guess." Eli honestly had no idea how he knew. It was just there in his gut. He had learned to trust those gut feelings. "Where's your mom?"

"She died. A couple years ago I was out with some friends of mine. I was mad at my dad so I stayed out way later than I should have. I refused to answer my phone so my mom got worried and went out to look for me. It had been really cold and there was ice on the road. She hit a patch and the car slid off the side of a bridge. She was trapped in the car in the river." Timothy looked so far away when he spoke. "That's when the beating started. It was my fault. He knew it. I took away the love of his life. How could he let me go unpunished?" Timothy's sarcasm and tough act had now turned to pain.

"When I was about your age, I was dating this girl named Julia. She was my first love. One night we got into a fight. I said horrible things to her, and she left on her bike. She got hit by a car and died. I felt so guilty because I thought it was my fault. It took time and the love of friends to realize that it wasn't my fault. Just like your mother's death wasn't your fault. Even if it was, you still wouldn't deserve to get beaten by your own father." Timothy had started crying.

"But I killed her. If I hadn't of been out so late, she wouldn't have had to come find me. It's my fault."

"Did you make the bridge icy?"

"No but-"

"No buts. It is not your fault. It was natures fault." Eli stayed quiet while Timothy cried. He looked up when he felt something hit his head. Neither had noticed that the clouds had turned dark like it was about to pour down rain. "Look we should get inside. Come with me."

"Where are we going?"

"Well I'm not letting you go back to your father's house so you're going to stay with me in my apartment." Timothy got up and followed Eli home. They had lived together for the past three years. After hearing Timothy's story, Eli knew that he wanted to help those like him. He changed his major and decided that some day he would open up a group home. That's why he was back in Toronto. The caregiver of the group home had recently died. One of Eli's professors was friends with him and told Eli that they would need a new caregiver. He and Timothy moved back. Timothy was now nineteen and ready to attend the University of Toronto in the fall. It was summer now.

As Eli thought about how much Timothy had grown and how proud he was, he stopped walking. He looked up and saw where he was. He smiled as he walked into the old diner.

"Eli Goldsworthy! You haven't changed a bit!" They aging waitress ran up to him and wrapped him in a big hug.

"Suze, how are you?"

"I'm good. I've missed you though. It's been four years."

"I know. I've missed everyone here too."

"Can I get you something to eat?"

"Sure. Then if you get a break, come join me."

"We're pretty busy today so hopefully I'll get one soon. Cheeseburger, no tomato?" Eli nodded. He was a little grateful that she hadn't asked him if he wanted fries. That would've brought back too many memories. As she went back to put in his order, he sat down at the only empty table, which just happened to have been _their _table. A few minutes later, Suze came back with his food. She gave him another quick hug before diving back into work. He was almost halfway done when he heard Suze yell.

"Clare! This must be my lucky day." Eli froze. Could it really be her? He slowly turned around. Sure enough, Clare Edwards was standing by the door. She looked exactly the same. Her hair was still short and curly, and she still had those curves that he had always loved. She was still so beautiful.

"What do you mean Suze? I come in here once a week." Suze lifted her eyebrows and walked away, towards Eli. Clare looked confused as she followed Suze with her eyes. Then she saw him. Eli Goldsworthy. Staring at her. He looked the same. His hair was slightly shorter, and he was actually wearing blue jeans instead of dark skinny jeans. Her mouth was parted, which made him smirk. She realized what she was doing and composed herself. She walked over to his table.

"Wow I haven't seen you in four years." He motioned for her to sit.

"Yeah well I've been away at college."

"You still could've talked to me."

"Clare, we stopped talking after we broke up before I went to college."

"Okay good point. So how have you been? You still look like the same Eli." She smiled.

"I've been really good. I'm actually back in town to stay." Suze brought Clare a cheeseburger and a separate plate of fries with honey mustard. They both gave her a questioning look.

"Clare I knew what you were going to order and you both know you wanted fries." Suze smiled and walked away. Clare and Eli laughed and began eating.

"So why are you back in Toronto?"

"Well it's a bit of a long story."

"We've got a lot of fries to eat so we've got time." She dipped a fry in the honey mustard and popped it in her mouth. Eli softly smiled.

"Okay well you asked for it." He told her the story about Timothy and the group home.

"Wow. That's amazing Eli. K.C. used to live in that group home. It's really a great place for kids who need it." She grabbed another fry with her left hand. Eli noticed that her purity ring was now replaced by a diamond engagement ring. He felt his heart break, but he didn't let it show.

"So he's the lucky guy?" He asked her and pointed at the ring. Clare blushed and looked down.

"His name in Chris Callahan. We met during my first year at U of T. He just graduated and is working at his father's law firm." Eli nodded.

"So when's the big day?" She slowly lifted her eyes to meet his.

"Saturday." He lifted his eyebrows in shock.

"This Saturday? As in four days away?" She nodded. "Did Adam know?"

"No I lost touch with Adam about a year ago when he moved to New York with Fiona."

"So next week you're going to be Mrs. Clare Callahan." She nodded. They both sat in silence and finished their food. The quiet was interrupted by Eli's phone ringing.

"Hey Timothy. What's up?"

"Nothing man. I'm at the group home and there's some paperwork you need to fill out. The sooner the better."

"Alright I'll be there in a little bit."

"Alright see you when you get here. Later."

"Bye." He hung up and looked at Clare. She clearly had been listening.

"Is something wrong?"

"No Timothy just has some papers for me to sign."

"Oh well you should go then."

"Yeah." They both got up. Eli left some money for the bill, which Clare had fought him about paying. They walked outside.

"Okay well I'll let you get to the group home. It was good seeing you again." She turned to walk away but was stopped by his hand on her elbow. She turned back to face him.

"Would you like to come with me?" She smiled then nodded.


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry it's taken awhile for me to update. Thank you so much for the reviews, story alerts, and whatnot! Enjoy!**

Eli started walking up the sidewalk with Clare. They were silent but would glance at each other. Clare suddenly smiled widely as they came upon the old hearse.

"Morty!" She exclaimed and ran towards him. She plastered herself against the passenger side with her arms outstretched, trying to hug the hearse. "I've missed you." People were now staring at her, but she didn't care. Eli watched this with a thoughtful expression. It warmed his heart to know that she missed something that was basically a part of him.

"Yep. He's still with me after all these years." Clare stood straight again before answering him with a smile on her face.

"Of course. I don't think you would really get rid of him. Even when he breaks down for good, you're probably going to store him in your garage." They both laughed.

"That's true." He opened her door for her.

"Thank you." He walked around to the driver's side and got in. The ride to the group home was filled with simple conversation. When they arrived, Eli held the door open for Clare. She smiled and stepped in. She stopped and looked around. There were hockey and pool tables against the walls, two game systems with a stack of games by the televisions, and a large bookshelf in the corner. Eli looked over to her.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just haven't been here in years. I mean I was only here once or twice, but it's changed a lot."

"That would be our fault." Clare looked at him curiously. "When Timothy moved in with me, it was like having a little brother. He had never played a video game so I taught him. I let him borrow my books and helped him with homework. He got a part time job to help pay bills and helped with cleaning and cooking, but he wasn't used to someone trying to take care of him. We figured a lot of other kids feel the same so that's why we added the games and books. Tim actually wants to get some instruments to let them play. I think it's a good idea." Clare watched his face as he spoke. It was obvious that he cared for Timothy and the group home. Her heart had already been fluttering since she saw him in the diner, but now it was about to burst from her chest.

"I admire what you're doing for these kids." He looked in her eyes and smiled.

"Hey Eli!" Eli turned around to see Timothy holding some papers on a clipboard.

"Timothy, this is Clare. Clare this is-" Timothy moved in closer and took Clare's hand in his to kiss it.

"Hi, I'm Timothy Martin." He smiled and held onto her hand.

"I'm Clare Edwards soon-to-be Callahan since I'm getting married in a few days." She smirked as he dropped her hand.

"Oh well he's a lucky guy." Eli rolled his eyes.

"Trust when I say you didn't have a chance with her anyways." Clare lifted an eyebrow at Eli.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that's you're older than him, about to be married, and my ex." Timothy smiled.

"Oh so you're **the** Clare Edwards. I see. Eli, sign these so I can go back to helping Cheyenne with her reading."

"She took you up on your offer?" Eli took the clipboard from Timothy and began looking them over.

"Yeah she just needed some time. I mean I understand how she feels being a fourteen year old who stutters."

"She just needs some practice with reading out loud."

"Exactly. My only regret is that she picked the Twilight series to read." He shook his head. Clare and Eli both laughed at him.

"Yeah I know what you mean. This one over here was obsessed with vampires back in the day." He smirked at Clare. She scoffed.

"Well if I remember correctly, I caught a certain someone reading them in my room." Timothy busted up laughing.

"Really Eli?"

"In my defense, she was taking forever, and there wasn't anything else to do." Timothy just laughed again and walked away.

"Was that really necessary?" She grinned up at him.

"Yes it was. Someone has to knock you off your smug high horse every once in awhile." He rolled his eyes.

"Would you like a tour?" She looked at her watch.

"Actually I need to get going. Can you give me a ride to my apartment?" He nodded and led her to the door and to Morty. She gave him directions and started talking about Timothy.

"He seems nice. You'd never know what he went through."

"He really is a great kid. He's like the little brother I never had. Speaking of siblings, how is your sister?"

"She's doing really well. She's married and settled down."

"Still in Kenya?"

"Yes, she loves it there."

"I'm glad she's happy. How are your parents doing?"

"Well..um..my mom is doing okay. She works at the church and got remarried." Eli noticed she didn't say anything about her father. He looked over at her while they were stopped at a red light. She was staring down at her hands with a sad expression.

"Clare." She looked up at him. "What happened?" She took a deep breath.

"My dad died. Cancer." She looked out the window as he turned back to the road. The light was green.

"When?"

"Three years ago."

"I'm so sorry Clare."

"It's not your fault. These things happen. He wasn't in pain in the end, and he said his goodbyes." They pulled into the parking lot of Clare's apartment complex. "It's just hard. Especially now with the wedding a few days away. He was supposed to give me away."

"I'm sorry." They sat in silence. Clare pushed her thoughts away and put on a smile.

"How about we have dinner tonight?"

"Oh well Adam is in town, and we were going to meet up."

"Bring him. I haven't seen him in years. I miss him." She really smiled this time.

"Okay I'll let him know. I'll pick you up at seven."

"Alright see you then." She got out of the hearse. She turned and waved before walking into the building. Eli got out his cell phone before he drove away.

"Adam dude you'll never believe who I hung out with today."

"Chewbaca?"

"Yes you know how he loves to hang around downtown Toronto." Eli rolled his eyes. "No it was Clare."

"Oh wow! I haven't seen her in ages."

"She invited us to dinner tonight. I'm thinking Dot like old times?"

"Alright what time?"

"I'm picking her up at seven."

"Okay I'll see you guys there. Eli?"

"Yeah dude?"

"Are you okay?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean with seeing her again. I know that you still had feelings when you broke up and that's the reason you moved away."

"Honestly I don't know how I feel. I'm happy that I got to see her, but she's getting married."

"What? When?"

"Saturday."

"Wow. That's sudden. Well maybe not for her, but to find out that your high school best friend is getting married in four days, it seems sudden."

"Yeah tell me about it. Okay I'm back at the group home so I'll see you tonight."

"Okay bye man."

"Bye." Eli hung up but sat in Morty for a few minutes. Clare was getting married. To someone else. Sure he had several opportunities to come back and win her back, but he was scared. Look at what being scared had got him. He wasn't going to let his fear control him anymore.


	3. Chapter 3

**I know guys, I suck for not updating. I'm really sorry. But I worked to make this chapter as perfect as I can so hopefully that makes up. This is the last chapter of this little story. Everything goes down here. Okay before I leave you to read this, I want to thank you for the reviews, alerts, and for putting this story in your favorites. Also you should go read **_**Saints and Sinners Don't Mix **_**by ClareEli-PiperLeo. It's a really good story that I'm absolutely in love with right now. Okay for the last time, Enjoy!**

Eli had picked Clare up a few minutes late. She smiled because he hadn't changed. He was always late to everything. It used to annoy her, but not so much now. They sat in silence while she thought of the past. She had been thinking about it since she saw Eli at Missy's. She thought about how heartbroken she was when they broke up, and how it almost killed her when he left. She thought about when she lost contact with Adam then two weeks later her father died. Not even a month before, her grandmother had died. Her mother was so lost in funeral preparations and trying to ease her own pain that she didn't see where Clare was heading. Clare went into a horrible state of depression. She refused to speak and lost the last few friends she had. That's when she decided to kill herself. She didn't have anyone so she slit her wrists. She woke up in the hospital with her mother, sister, and Alli by her side. She cried and eventually agreed to try to put herself back together. She started going to a group therapy, where she met Chris Callahan. He had heard her story and promised to be there for her. She smiled at the thought of Chris. She really did love him, but it was more how she used to love Adam, not how she loved Eli.

"Clare?" She turned to face him. They were parked at the Dot and were just sitting in Morty. "Are you okay? We've been sitting here for a few minutes." She shook her head trying to clear her thoughts.

"I'm fine. I was just lost in thought." She smiled and got out. She walked in the door and was immediately wrapped in a bear hug.

"Adam!" She grabbed onto him, and he spun around with her in his arms.

"Clare, I've missed you so much! How have you been?" He set her down but still held her hands.

"I've been so good. I missed you too! How are you? Are you still with Fiona?"

"Yeah we're still together. I'm really good. I can't believe you're getting married!"

"I'm glad. I can't either. So are we going to sit down or stand all night?" He pulled her to a booth and sat beside her. Eli sat down across from them. He wore a huge grin. The entire scene had been heartwarming. They ordered and made small talk while they were waiting. Once they had gotten their food, they began eating. Adam and Eli's eyes stayed on Clare. They couldn't believe that their best friend was back in their lives. Eli and Adam had stayed close and visited each other every few months. Neither had contact with Clare since high school. Unaware that they were staring, she reached for a napkin with her left hand, leaving the scar on her wrist exposed. She was used to the scars and didn't try to hide them anymore; however, she had forgotten that they didn't know the story. That was until a silence fell on the table. She looked up to see them both staring at her. Adam's mouth was hanging open, and Eli's face looked slightly sick. He swallowed down the vomit he could feel coming up as saw the scar occupying Clare's wrist.

"Clare, what's that?" She lifted an eyebrow in question then followed his gaze to her wrist. She blushed and moved her hands under the table.

"It's just another scar." Adam and Eli exchanged looks. Adam decided to try.

"What do you mean? How did you get it?" She took a deep breath.

"Guys, we were having such a good time. Let's not ruin it with this, okay?" She looked hopeful then she started eating again.

"Why would you do that?" She shook her head.

"Okay I'll tell you. My grandmother had died then a month later my father died. I got so depressed I stopped talking. I hardly did anything besides sit in my room. I didn't go to class. Hell I didn't even go downstairs to the kitchen for food. I stayed in my room. My mother was too occupied with her own grief to notice. Everyone else gave up. I was alone and in pain. I couldn't handle it so I tried to end it."

"Who found you?"

"An old friend of my sister's. Darcy said she got this feeling that something terrible was wrong so she had Spinner come to my house. When no one answered the door, he walked in and found me in my room. He called an ambulance and Darcy. I was passed out for all of this. Darcy told me later when I woke up." She noticed the horror in their eyes. She hated that she had put it there. "I started going to group therapy, and I met Chris, my fiancé. He helped me through it, and I'm okay. I'm not 100% percent happy, but I understand that no matter how bad things get, I can change them." She smiled at them both and went back to eating. They sat in silence until she asked Adam to let her out of the booth so she could use the restroom. When she left, Adam started talking.

"I can't believe she tried to kill herself. I mean I was worried when I left, but I never really thought she would go through with it."

"Why were you worried?"

"Well she acted differently after you left, not in a good way. It was nothing extreme. She would just daze out a lot more, and she always seemed tired. I was never sure if it really had anything to do with you so I never told you."

"At least she's happy now. She's getting married to the guy who helped her through her dark times." Adam narrowed his eyes at Eli.

"You're jealous that it wasn't you." Eli lifted his gaze to meet Adam's.

"Adam, we weren't there. She tried to kill herself, and we weren't around. That's not okay. I should've been here. I should have known what was going on."

"You still love her, don't you?"

"I do, and I always will." He shrugged. They both turned their head to see Clare standing beside the table.

"Clare, how much did you hear?"

"I heard enough. I should probably get home. It was great seeing you Adam. Please don't be a stranger." She gave him a tight hug after writing down her cell number.

"Same here Clare. I'll text you later so you have my number. Take it easy Eli." He sat there and watched as Clare and Eli walked outside. They were silent when he drove her back to her apartment.

"Well that was…nice. It was good seeing you, Eli."

"Yeah you too." She got out of the car and walked into the building. He started to drive away when he slammed on the brakes. He wasn't going to let this happen. His fear would not control him. He parked Morty and went into the building. He had no idea where he was going. He saw a man sitting by the elevator, reading a paper.

"Excuse me, do you know where Clare Edwards lives?"

"4G." The man didn't even look up. Eli mumbled his thanks and made his way to her door. She opened after a couple of knocks.

"Eli what are doing here?"

"What you heard was the truth. I've loved you since high school. I know we had our reasons for breaking up, but it killed me to see you every day and you not be mine. It hurt so much that I had to move away. I thought about you every day. I miss you so much, and I love you with all my heart. I always will." The end of his rant was met with silence. They just stared into each other's eyes.

"Eli…I love you too." She barely got the words out before his lips crashed onto hers. He moved her back into the apartment. He switched their positions so her back was against the now closed door. He lifted her up and wrapped her legs around his waist. He broke the kiss so he could find her bedroom. Her lips never left his skin. She was licking, sucking, and biting along his neck. He made his way to the bedroom and laid her down on her bed. She looked up into his face with darkened lust filled eyes.

"Clare, have you ever…" He trailed off. She blushed and shook her head. He smirked darkly, knowing he was about to completely claim her as his, and no one was going to take her after him. He was going to be her one and only in every sense of the word. He bent down to kiss her gently. "Is this what you want?" She stared into his eyes.

"It's you Eli. It's always been you." He took that as a yes and made her his. Afterwards she laid in his arms, she sighed.

"I love you Eli. I always have."

"I love you Clare. I always will." They fell asleep in each other's arms.

The next day Clare made her way to her fiancé's house. She was nervous and felt horrible. She had cheated on the person who had helped her through the darkness. She felt the tears coming. She hated herself for what she had done, but she couldn't help it. Eli made her 100% happy. Chris didn't. He would never be able to give her what Eli could. She needed Eli.

She knocked on the door. He opened it and went to kiss her check. She stopped him and walked inside. He looked at her confusingly after he shut the door.

"Chris, I don't how to say this so I'm just going to say it. I cheated on you last night." She watched as his face fell. He looked down at the floor, thinking. After almost 10 minutes of silence, Clare couldn't take it anymore.

"Please say something." He looked up at her.

"Do you still want to get married?" His face was blank as he asked. She took a deep breath.

"No. I'm in love with someone else. I've loved him since I was fifteen." She watched as he let out a sigh of relief. She gave him a questioning look.

"Clare I love you, I really do, but I don't want to marry you. I love you like my very best friend. I want you in my life, but not as my wife." She busted up laughing.

"I feel the same way." She continued to laugh, and he joined in.

"We almost got married! Can you imagine what our lives would have been like?" Eventually their laughter died down. "This guy better love you."

"He does. Trust me."

"I do." They hugged, and Chris kissed her on the cheek. Clare walked to the door and opened it. Before she could step out, Chris called after her. She turned to see what he wanted.

"You get to tell everyone that the wedding's off." He grinned as she groaned and left. She got in her car and headed downtown to Missy's diner. She told Eli, Adam, and Alli that she would meet them there when she was down. By now Eli had told both Alli and Adam about last night. She smiled at the thought of best friends and love of her life in the same place. Life was finally back how it was supposed to be, and everything would work out better this time around.


End file.
